This series lists prominent Republicans, Trump appointees and veterans of previous Republican presidencies now speaking out against Donald Trump. And shows why.
Click here for part twenty-eight. All earlier episodes are linked there. This is part twenty-nine. Today we reach 174 Republicans who have seen the light.
Click on the name for the source of the quote.
167. John Warner, Republican senator for Virginia for 30 years:
““While we — like all Americans — had hoped that Donald Trump would govern wisely, he has disappointed millions of voters who put their faith in him and has demonstrated that he is dangerously unfit to serve another term.” [22 August, 2020]
168. Robert Gates. CIA director under President George H W Bush, secretary of defense under George W Bush:
“It's quite clear that being a unifying president is pretty low on the priority of our current incumbent. I think he is a divider, and I think he does so quite consciously.” [17 June, 2020]
169. Rosario Marin, US Treasurer under George W Bush:
“Americans were promised more good-paying jobs and the opportunity for their families to live the American dream if they worked hard and played by the rules. Instead, Donald Trump’s willful ignorance and abdication of leadership in the face of a pandemic has led to more job losses than at any point since the Great Depression ... There is no credible argument for the president to make that American families are better off than they were four years ago.” [4 September, 2020]
170. Arthur Neudek, professing Christian and Republican in California:
“I’m amazed how Trump has pandered to certain segments of Christians and that they still follow him. Trump does not show Christian values – like being aware of those who are materially poor, or ‘the least of us’, or saying that using deadly force on an unarmed suspect is like missing a three-foot putt. He has no respect for human life or the truth.” [September 2020]
171. Dave Erwin, retired marine and lifelong Republican:
“Donald Trump lost me the minute he attacked Mexican-Americans. And even more so when he attacked John McCain – a real hero – because John McCain didn’t suck up to him like he requires. I will be voting for the first time in my life for a Democrat, Joe Biden.” [September 2020]
172. William Webster, former federal judge and the former director of both the FBI and the CIA under Reagan and George W H Bush:
“I know firsthand the professionalism of the men and women of the FBI. The aspersions cast upon them by the president and my longtime friend, Attorney General William P. Barr, are troubling in the extreme. Calling FBI professionals ‘scum’, as the president did, is a slur against people who risk their lives to keep us safe. Mr. Barr’s charges of bias within the FBI risk inflicting enduring damage on this critically important institution.” [16 December, 2019]
And from the archives, comments from those who may have flipped back:
173. Lindsey Graham, Republican senator for South Carolina:
"He's a race-baiting, xenophobic religious bigot. He doesn't represent my party. He doesn't represent the values that the men and women who wear the uniform are fighting for." [21 July, 2016]
174. Nikki Haley, former Republican governor of South Carolina:
"We saw and looked at true hate in the eyes last year in Charleston. I will not stop until we fight a man [Trump] that chooses not to disavow the KKK. That is not a part of our party." [21 July, 2016]
To be continued ...
Readers’ tips in the comments are invited.
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~JordanShanks
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